Well tool



H. C. OTIS WELL TOOL Sept. 25, 1951 Filed July 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Herberi C, OHS

H. C. OTIS Sept. 25, 1951 WELL TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2'7, 1946 Patented Sept. 25, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics Herbert o. Otis, Dallas, Tex.

, Application July 27, 1946, Serial No. 686,632

Claims. (01. 166-1) improved well tool which. is adapted to be re-:

movably positioned in a well fiow conductor for use as a'support or stop member for well devices.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved well tool which i adapted to be lowered into the bore of a well flow conductor and anchored therein by expanding locking means into the recess at a coupling between the ends of adjacent sections of the flow conductor. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved well tool of the character described having anchoring means which may be moved into anchoring engagement in the recess at a coupling in a well-flow conductor and firmly held in such position to prevent downward movement of the well tool in the conductor, said tool being releasable and removable from the flow conductor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character described which may be run into and removed from the well flow conductor by means of a flexible line running and pullingmechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a device of the character described, means for positively retracting the anchoring means from engagement in the coupling recess of the flow conductor.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in a device of the character described, means normally holding the locking means in inoperative position but adapted to be moved to permit said locking means to expand to locking position upon upward longitudinal movement of the rest of the tool with respect to said means.

I Still a further object of the invention is to provide, in a device of the character described, releasable means preventing movement of the anchoring means to inoperative position, said means being releasable upon upward longitudinal movement of the well tool in the well flow conductor, whereby the anchoring means may be positively moved to retracted or inoperative position. A particular object of the invention is to provide a well tool of the character described having anchoring means which are expanded to locking engagement in the coupling recess of the well flow conductor and are securely held in such locking position without frictional engagement between the mandrel of the well tool and the anchoring means.

Additional objects and advantages of themvention will readily'be apparent from the read-. ing of the followingdescription of a device constructed in accordancewith the invention, and reference to the accompanying drawings there-- of, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a well tool constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the same being lowered into a well flow conductor,

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the well tool in anchored position,

Figure 3 is a view, partly in elevation and. partly in section, showing the well tool being re-v moved from anchored position in the flow con-v ductor,

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view. taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is a View of the upper end of amodified form of mandrel for the well tool. 7

In the drawings, the numeral I I! designates an: elongate substantially cylindrical mandrel, having an enlarged section I I at its upper end. The: under side of the enlarged section is tapered inwardly and downwardly to form a substantially frusto-conical expander section I2, while .the upper portion of the enlarged section is reduced in diameter and provided with an external annular flange I3 at its extreme upper end whichserves as a retrieving connection, as will herein-' after be explained.

A plurality of locking dogs I5 having substantially T-shaped lower ends I6 are slidable on the,

mandrel and each dog has its T-shaped end loosely confined within one of a plurality of inverted T-shaped slots I'I formed in the periph-- cry of a carrier member or sleeve I8 which is slidable on the mandrel. The lower larger portion. of each of the slots I1 i longitudinally larger. than the cross piece at the lower end of the dog confined therein, wherebyjthe dog may undergo, a longitudinal movement Within said slot.

An elongate retaining sleeve I9 telescopes the: lower portion of the dogs and the carrier I8 and confines the lower ends of the dogs within the slots II between said sleeve and the mandrel. The lower portion of the bore of the retaining sleeve I9 is reduced in diameter to form an upwardly facing shoulder I9a and is freely slidable on the lower portion of the mandrel. Outwardly bowed friction springs 2|] have their upper ends securedto the lower end of the sleeve I9 and depend terefrom. The lower ends of the friction 3 springs are secured to a follower ring 2| which is also slidable on the mandrel and is prevented from sliding oif the mandrel by a retaining nut 22 screw-threaded onto the lower end of said mandrel.

The dogs l5 are provided with large substantially rectangular outwardly extending bosses 25 at their upper ends, and have beveled surfaces 26 at their inner upper ends. Leaf springs 21 are attached to the rear surfaces of the dogs near their mid-portions and bow outwardly thereabove, whereby the upper ends of the dogs are normally urged outwardly from the mandrel toward the position illustrated in Figure 2. V

A shear pin 28 extends transversely through the lower portion of the carrier member I8 and the mandrel Ill near the mid portion of the mandrel, and this shear pin normally prevents longitudinal movement of the carrier member with respect to the mandrel, whereby the dogs are: positioned adjacent the expander section 12 ofvthe. mandrel. Thus, when the dogs are in their lowermost positionin the slots 11 they willnot engage; the expander section, but when said dogs are moved .to their uppermost. position in said slots they may be engaged by the expander section and expanded or moved radially outwardly toithe position shownin Figure 2.

When the retaining sleeve [9 is in the. upper position, shown in Figure 1, the internal shoulder lBa of the sleeve engages the lower end of the carrier member I 8 to prevent further upward movement of the retaining sleeve. The large portion ofthe' bore of the sleeve extends upwardly about the carrier member past the mid-portion of the locking dogs and, consequently, engages the outer surfaces of the dogs to hold the same in the retracted position illustrated in Figure '1, whereby the bosses 25 are held out of engagement with the wall of a well flow conductor C in'towhich the device isladapte'd totbe lowered. The friction springs engage the inner wall of the conductor tb'maintain the retaining sleeve l9in the upper positionasthe well tool is lowered into'the bore of said conductor, whereby the dogs are maintained in retracted position during lowering;

However, when thewell tool has reached the depth in the well conductor at which it is desired 'to'be set or anchored, the mandrel of the well tool is raised while the friction springs 20 hold the retaining sleeve I9 substantially stationary as the mandrel moves upwardly. Thus, the dogs are engaged by the lower end ofthe-slots in 'the carrier member [8 and are moved upwardly thereby with respect to the retaining sleeve. When the dogs have been moved up wardly until the lower ends of the leaf springs 21 are positioned above the upper end of the sleeve I9, theleaf springs will urge the'upp'er ends of the dogs outwardly into engagement with the wall of the well pipe. Continued upward movement of the mandrel will lift the tool until the dog bosses 25 engage in a coupling recess between the adjacent ends of two sections of the well'fio'w conductor,whereupon the bosses will be expanded into such recess to stop upward movement of the well tool.

When the dog bosses have engagedin the coupling recess 30, the mandrel!!! is lowered until the frusto-conical expander section [2 thereon engages the beveled surfaces 26 atthe inner upper end of the dogs'to securely hold the dogs in 'expanded; position with the bosses 25611 gaga' in 'the coupling "recess. Therefore, any

ing formed in said skirt and flange.

well device which is lowered into the flow conductor and permitted to come to rest upon the upper end of the mandrel will be supported thereon against downward movement in the well flow conductor by engagement of the bosses with the upper end of the lower section of the well flow conductor,

The well tool is lowered into the flow conductor by means of a flexible steel line 3| having a lowering tool-32 connected to its lower end. The lowering tool has a depending cylindrical skirt which closely telescopes the flange l3 at the upper end ifthe mandrel and is releasably secured thereto by a shear pin 33 positioned in a transverse open- When the dog bosses 25 have been expanded into the coupling recess in the manner just described, application of a downward force to the lowering tool will shear the pin 33 to release the lowering tool from the mandrel, whereby the lowering tool may be raised out of the, flow conductor.

When it is desired to remove the well tool from within the well flow conductor, a suitable retrieving tool 35, having resiliently mounted grab dogs 36- at itslower end, islowered in'tdthe well fioiwfconductor upon the flexible line lowering mechanism. in the. customary mannertun'til thegrabfdogs 3.6 engage underithe flange 13 at the upper end of the'mandrel. The retrieving tool is then lifted to lift the mandrel until thefrusto-conical section I 2 is raised from engagement with the. beveled surfaces 26 atl'the' upper end of the dogs. Continued upward movement'of thefr'nandrel will cause the carrier member 18 to be moved upwardly until the lower end ofthe T-shapedzslotsll engage the lower end of the dogsto move' the bosseszi at the7upper endof the dogs .intoe'ngageme'nt with the lower end of the'upper'section of the well flow conductorat the coupling recess. Such engagement prevents further upward movement of the dogs and the carrier member. "'A continued upward piill on the mandrel will their cause the shear pin-"28 to be fractured to permit the carrier member [8 to move downwardly with respect to the mandrel until the carrier member and the lower ends of thedogs are moved downwardly-within the retaining' sleeve I9 to the position shown iii Figured, whereby the dogs are retracted "seathe bosses 25 are moved out'o'f'engagemen't the coupling recess 30. x

With the partsinthe position illustrated in Figure 3, the well tool'mayjbe raised completely out of the wellflow conductor. Should heatre again attemptta -moveupwardly 'outof the re straining sleeveflthe engagement of the bosses on the dogs with the inner wal l'of the'flow can; ductor will tend tomove the dogs back downwardlywithin the retaining sl eve-to ea'usefthe dogs' tobe retracted, whereby the' dogs will not prevent upward movement of the well tool within th'e fiow conductor.

Obviously, the. mandrel- I0 may be provided with a" longitudinal axial bore (not Shawn) is pr eierabl' that two 7 or a more be proi iddi With one dog, the outer periphery-"of the IY s 7 larged portion H of the mandrel would engage one side of the inner Wall of the well flowconductor while the boss on the dog would engage in the coupling recess 30 to prevent downward to serve as a stop or support to prevent down-" ward movement of other well devices supported thereon. The well tool is provided withanchor ing dogs having bosses which'engage inth e recess at a coupling between the ends of adjacent sections of the well flow conductor, and are held in this expanded position by a frusto conical expander section on the mandrel, such expansion I being maintained without substantial frictional engagement between the mandrel and the inner beveled surfaces 26 of the dogs. Once the bosses on the dogs have been expanded into the coupling recess, a considerable force may be applied downwardly upon the mandrel, and such force will be transferred through the frusto-conical expander surface and the dog bosses to the upper end of the lower of two adjacent sections of the well flow conductor, whereby the well tool is positively held against downward displacement within said flow conductor.

It will also be seen that the device may readily be lowered into and raised upwardly out of a well flow conductor by means of a flexible line raisin and lowering mechanism, expansion'and retraction of the anchoring means on the tool being accomplished by longitudinal movement of the tool within the well flow conductor.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A well tool adapted to be lowered into a wellv flow conductor having annular 7 recesses therein between sections thereof and including, a mandrel having a downwardly facing inclined expanding shoulder thereon, anchoring means movably carried by the mandrel below the expander shoulder, resilient means between the anchoring means and mandrel normally urging said anchoring means toward expandedanchoring position, a retaining sleeve slidable on the mandrel initially telescoping the lower portion of the anchoring means and engaging and restraining said anchoring means in retracted position, friction members on said sleeve engaging the bore wall of the conductor for restraining movement of said sleeve to permit movement of the mandrel and anchoring means with respect to the retaining sleeve whereby themandrel and anchoring means may be moved upwardly with respect to the sleeve to permit the anchoring means to be expanded by the resilient means into one of the annular recesses in the conductor, the mandrel then being movable downwardly to engage the expanding shoulder With the anchoring means to positively hold said anchoring means in engagement with the annular recess to anchor the mandrel against downward movement in the conductor, and a retaining nut on the lower end of the mandrel below the retaining sleeve and friction means for limiting downward movement" of said friction the mandrel.

2; A well tooljadapted to be lowered into a" ,well flow conductor having annular recesses therein between sections thereof and including;

a mandrel having a downwardly facing inclinedv expander shoulder thereon, anchoring means movably carried "by the mandrel below the cit- 1 pander shoulder," a releasable connection be tween said anchoring means and mandrel initiallyv limiting longitudinal movement of the an-{ wall of the conductor for restraining movement of said sleeve to permit movement of the man-'" drel and anchoring means with respectto'tlie retaining sleeve whereby the mandrel and.

anchoring means may be moved upwardly with 1y to engage the expander shoulder with the anchoring means to positively hold said anchoring means in engagement with the recess to anchor the mandrel against downward move- .ment in the conductor, the releasable connection between the anchoring means and mandrel be-' ing releasable by application of an upward force to the mandrel while the anchoring means" is engaged in the annular recess to permit the anchoring means to move downwardly with respect to the mandrel, a stop member on the j mandrel below the retaining sleeve and friction means engageable with said friction means when the mandrel is moved upwardly to move the re taining sleeve upwardly to reengage said sleeve with the anchoring means upon upward movement of the mandrel with respect to said anchor ing means after the releasable connection has beenreleased, said sleeve retracting the anchoring means from the recess in the flow conductor whereby thewell tool maybe raised out of the' flow conductor.

3. A well tool adapted to be lowered into a 1 well flow conductor having annular recesses therein between sections thereof and including,

an elongate substantially cylindrical mandrel, an

enlarged downwardly facing inclined expander section carried by said mandrel, a carrier member movable on the mandrel below the expander section, shear means initially releasably restraining the carrier member against movement on the mandrel, anchoring dogs having a lost-f motion connection with the carrier member so as to be movable longitudinally with respect to said carrier and the mandrel into and out of engagement with the expander section, resilient means and sleeve ctr QQQQQQ? sewer th -mandrel a e m i ed wi to the retaining sleeve; said sleeve bein away from, restraining "position up on swear longitudinal movement-of the v mandrel and jcarl- V i'withie e t to ai e ve s er'mi t dogs. o b e a ded intoe ee in ow enductor by the resilient means and tobe engaged and held in such'position by the expander'secqn of the m n l s a t p or he mandrel,

against downward movement," the mandrel beingmovable upwardly while the dogs are enag'ed in the recess to shear the shear means and mandrel to telescope the lower portion of the, dogs and retract said dogsfrom engagement'in' the recess in the conductor; whereupon the tool maybe removed from the conductor.

4f. A well tool adapted to be lowered into a well 7 flow conductor having annular recesses therein between sections thereof and including, an elongate substantially cylindrical mandrel having a connecting member at its upper end adapted for connection with a flexible line raising and loweringmechanism, an enlarged downwardly facing inclined expander section on the unper porti n of themandrel, a carrier sleeve secured on the mandrelbelow the expander section, anchoring dogshaving a lostrmotion connection with the carrier sleeve so as to be movable longitudinally with respect to said carrier and the mandrel into and out of engagement with the expander section, bosses on the upper ends of the dogs, springs on the inner sides" of the dogs below the bosses engaging the mandrel and urging the dog bosses toward expanded position, a retaining sleeve slidable on the mandrel below the carrier sleeve and telescoping said carrier sleeve and the lower portion of the dogs ad-, jacent the springs for initially restraining the dogs against movementtof thebossesto expand ed position, friction springs connected with the retaining sleeve and frictionally vengaging the inner. wall of the. flow conductor restraining movement of the retaining sleeve whereby the mandrel and carrier maybe moved with respect to the retaining sleeve, said retaining sleeve be: ing movable away from restraining'p'ositipn upon upward longitudinal movement of the mandrel and carr'ier with resnect to said, retaining sleeve to permit the springs on the dogs to e gpand the bosses into a recess in the flow conductor, the mandrel then being movable downwardly with respect to the dogs to engage the expander sec tion of the mandrel with the upperends of the dogs so as to hold the bosses expanded and sup: port the mandrel against downwardrnovenlent, and a stop member on the mandrel below'the retaining sleeve engageable with the friction springs limiting downward movement of the friction springs and retaining sleeve on the mandrel.

the mandr 4 -,Aiwd wmo .edant to b e e i a well "now" conductor having annular" recesses thereinlbetween sections: thereof and including, an elongate substantially cylindrical mandrel, .an enlarged' ldgwjiwardly facing inclined expander section' onthl'ipper'portion of the mandrel; a carrier sleeve movably mounted on the mandrel below theexnahder section, a shear member initially releasahlysecuring the carrier sleeve on a against movement, anchoring dogs havinga ilost-nio tifon connection with the car' riersleeve s6 as to"bef1novable longitudinally with respect-to saidicarrier and the mandrel in} to ahdieutib'flengagcmentwith the expander sec tioii,- bq' s s onthe unper'e ds of the dogs, springs on' the inhersides tftheidogs' below the bosses e gagingtne' mandreland normally urging the dogbossestoward expanded position, a retain ing sleeve slidableon the mandrel below the can ri'e'r sleeve and telescoping the carrier sleeve and the lower portion of the dogs adjacent the springs for initially restraining the dogs against movement of the bosses to expanded position; frictionspring s' connected with the lower end of the retaining sleeve and frictionally engaging the inner wall of the flow conductor restraining movement of the retaining sleeve whereby the mandrel a nd carrier may be moved with' respect 'to' the" retaining sleeve, said retaining sleeve being movable downwardly with i respect to the dogs upon upward longitudinal movement of the mandrel and carrier with respect to said retaining sleeve to permit the springs on the dogs to expand the bosses into a recess in the fiow'co'nduc'tor; the mandrel then being movable downwardly with res'pect to the dogs to engage the expander secti "fof the mandrel with the upper ends of menses so as to hold the basses expanded and support" the mandrel against downward movement," the mandrel being mo able upwardly whilethe dog bosses are engaged in the recess to shear the shear member and permit the carrier sleeve and dogs to be moved downwardly of the. mamirel, and a stop member on the mandrel'below the retaining sleey'en; gageable with the irictionsprings to limit'ldq'wnward movement of the retaining sleeve on the mandreland to move'the retaining sleeve up; wardly with respect to "the dogs and carrier sleeveafter the shear member has been sheared, whereby the retaining sleeve telescopes the lower portion of the dogs adjacent the springs to my tract the dog bosses from the recess in the con; duct'orfso the tool may be removed from the conductor.

HERBERT C. OTIS.

RE ERE CITED The following references are of record in the file or this patent UNITED-STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,315,437 Luccous A Mar. 30; 1943 2,392,244 Hooser Jan. 1', 1946 

